Mentor Texts: I used excerpts from the following reviews: “With Poetic Intensity, Kevin Powers Tackles the Terror of War” (book of poetry) “Modern Family: A Hard Jay’s Night” (television episode) “Pharrell Williams: Just Exhilaratingly Happy” (album) Note: Read Rebekah’s post about how she uses this mentor text to teach figurative language “Titanfall Supplants Its Ancestors […]
Author: Allison Marchetti
Mom, Teacher, Writer, Postpartum Doula.
Books: Writing with Mentors & Beyond Literary Analysis (Heinemann)
Offering Choice During Mini-Lessons
In April, in Creative Writing, we’ve taken a detour from technique-driven units of study. Students are participating in a National Novel Writing Month-inspired challenge, choosing from one of the following writing projects: 30 poems in 30 days, a novel (10,000 words minimum), a screenplay (45 pages minimum). As the weather turns from winter to spring, […]
Mentor Text Wednesday: Restaurant Review PLUS Interview with Writer
Mentor Text: Wells, Pete. “Fred and Barney Would Feel Right at Home.” The New York Times. The New York Times Co. 28 Jan. 2014. Web. 7 April 2014. Author Information: “At the Critics’ Table.” The New York Times. The New York Times Co. 3 Sept. 2013. Web. 7 April 2014. Background: Driving to work this week, […]
Coming to Terms with the P-Word
My friends don’t understand why I love bikram yoga–the heat (105 degrees), the humidity (40%), the predictability (26 postures repeated twice). “Don’t you get bored?” they persist. No. In fact, the predictability of the class is one of the aspects that makes the yoga so enjoyable. Most people learn the 26 postures quickly–it just takes […]
Mentor Text Wednesday: Inspiring Mentor Texts
Mentor Texts: “Repetition” by Phil Kaye “In Childhood” by Sarah A. Chavez Skill: Seeking inspiration from outside sources Most discussions about writer’s workshop usually center around two components: mini lessons and conferring. They are the favorite children of workshop. But lately Rebekah and I have been turning our attention to mentor texts. When students leave […]
A Lesson for Tomorrow: Sentence Study
Last week Rebekah blogged about teaching students how to find and use mentor texts to increase their independence and cure their writing blues. She posted a fantastic chart that uses a problem-solution or if-then approach to guiding students to and through mentor texts. As her chart indicates, sometimes a mentor text is just a sentence. […]
Mentor Text Wednesday: China’s Web Junkies Op-Doc
Mentor Text: “China’s Web Junkies,” an Op-Doc from The New York Times Skill: Using evidence to support a position Background: Every year it seems that more and more of my students are denouncing Facebook. They talk about it freely during passing time as they unpack their bags. “You’re still on? I’ve been off for a […]
A Writer’s Secret Weapon
“I don’t know what to write about.” As a teacher and writer with “so many ideas and so little time,” I find this common student response troubling. But when I pause to reflect on why students might be uninspired or why they have difficulty finding ideas, I realize that, in some cases, it’s because they […]
Mentor Text Wednesdays: Infographics!
Mentor Text: See Learnist board Genre-Based Workshop: Infographics Technique-Based Workshop: Using visuals as evidence in writing Background: We usually study mentor texts in isolation, but sometimes it can be useful to show students a group, or cluster, of mentor texts all at once. Studying a group of genre-specific mentor texts helps students identify the traits […]
Writers Have Plans: Using Next Lists to Build Writing Lives
Last night I tossed and turned, hunting for an idea for this week’s post. This morning at the breakfast table, a steaming cup of coffee beside me, I scan through a Google folder labeled “Blog To Do List.” Rebekah and I created this file months ago, preloading it with ideas for future entries. I feel […]
moving writers 